International   

U.S., North Korea ‘narrow differences’

SINGAPORE: The U.S. and North Korea held “substantive discussions” here on Tuesday to prepare the ground for the resumption of the six-party parleys on denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula.

North Korea’s chief delegate to the six-party talks, Kim Kye-gwan, later said the differences with the U.S. had been “narrowed a lot,” while the chief U.S. negotiator, Christopher Hill, said it was “a good day [of talks] in Singapore.”

Mr. Hill said the North Koreans “do understand the time sensitivity” at stake, so that their denuclearisation could be speeded up.

He said North Korea was told of the “need to tee up” the unfulfilled “elements of Phase Two” of the ongoing six-party process. One such key element was the perceived delay on the part of North Koreans to give a “complete and correct declaration” regarding all their nuclear programmes, including the existing arsenal and the present and planned activities.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Iran expands nuclear enrichment
U.S., North Korea ‘narrow differences’
Mob of lawyers beats up former Minister in Lahore
Weerawansa refutes charge of indiscipline
Rogge confirms move to discuss torch relay
Rice, McCain’s running mate?
Genesis machine at work
The business of stolen data
U.S. Senators write to IT firms on H-1B visa

Copyright © 2008, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu